Қытайдың дәстүрлі ұлттық спорты – Цзяньцзы

Traditional Chinese national sport

Jianzi , tī jianzi (踢毽子), tī jian (踢毽), or jianqiú (毽球), is a traditional Chinese sport in which players aim to keep a heavily weighted shuttlecock in the air using their bodies apart from the hands, unlike in similar games such as peteca and indiaca. The primary origin of jianzi is an ancient Chinese game called Cuju, from the Han dynasty, 2,000 years ago. Jianzi is played on a badminton court using inner or outer lines in different competition settings. It can also be played artistically, among a circle of players in a street or park, with the objective to keep the shuttle 'up' and show off skills. In Vietnam, it is known as đá cầu, and it is the national sport. In the Philippines, it is known as sipa and was also the national sport, until it was replaced by arnis in December 2009. The game has also gained a following around the globe. In English, both the sport and the object with which it is played are referred to as a "shuttlecock" or "featherball". In Malaysia, the game is known as capteh, or chapteh. It is considered a game played by children until they can master sepak raga.

Competitively, the government run game is called "Hacky Sack (jianqiu 毽球)" and is played on a rectangular court 6.10 by 11.88 meters, divided by a net (much like badminton) at a height of 1.60 meters (1.50 meters for women). A new style of Ti Jian Zi called "Chinese JJJ" was introduced in 2009. "JJJ" stands for "Competitive Jianzi kicking" in Chinese with the three Chinese characters "竞技毽" all starting with "J". This version uses a lower middle net at 90 cm, and the inner or outside lines of the standard badminton court.

There are several variations of the game, such as trying to keep the shuttlecock in the air until an agreed number of kicks (e. g. 100) is reached, either alone or in a pair. In circle play, the aim may be simply to keep play going. In all but the most competitive formats, a skillful display is a key component of play.

Freestyle is very similar to freestyle footbag, where players perform various kicks, delays, and other maneuvers without touching the shuttlecock with their hands. Many footbag tricks were initially inspired by jianzi, but now jianzi freestylers often look for inspiration from footbag.

Jianzi has been played since the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), and was popular during the Six Dynasties period and the Sui and Tang dynasties. The game is believed to have evolved from cuju, a game similar to football that was used as military training. Several ancient books have record of it being played. In 2013, a Hong Kong company released KickShuttle. It is a form of shuttlecock not made using feathers.

The official shuttlecock consists of four equal length goose or duck feathers joined at a rubber or plastic base. It weighs approximately and is long. The feathers vary in color, usually dyed red, yellow, blue, or green. In competitions a pink shuttlecock is preferred. The shuttlecock used in Chinese JJJ games weighs The height from the bottom of rubber base to top of the shuttlecock is and the width between tops of two opposite feathers is also .